Audi CEO appears at a Trump rally, former Miss Switzerland accuses Trump of rape and the Swiss ambassador's wife is Nigeria's first ebola case

This past week saw two electoral feats of strength that should give pause to democracy's naysayers and dictators who embrace doomsday in their politics.

In Serbia, a coalition of former opposition parties coalesced around a movement promoting an electoral student list to defeat Aleksander Vučić, the country's former president and one-time Information Minister of Slobodan Milosević. Those who remember the nineties for what they really were and the terror experienced in Bosnia and Kosovo by armed militias emboldened by Milosević surely know what this means. Less clear is whether the political winds of change will pave a path for normalizing the country's status within Europe where it remains outside the EU.

In Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as simply Lula, won his reelection bid, defeating Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro whose doomed attempt at a coup landed him in prison. Like his father before him, he declared himself the winner of an election he did not win before jetting off to Florida. Flavio has yet to be photographed however in a Publix supermarket in the sunshine state.

And next Tuesday is of course the US mid-term elections where MAGA is set for a trouncing due to promises made and not kept around what matters most to Americans, namely their bottom line. The war of choice against Iran has sent household costs soaring.

On the streets in Europe, another phenomenon is developing. Recent riots and looting in Paris and Milan suggest the forces that were triumphing through manipulation at the ballot box have been forced to defend illiberalism elsewhere. The para-politics of recent years, where institutional media acts as if the horse race coverage of high (or extreme low) politics is a continuum blending past, present and future and social media and lived experience meanwhile rip into democracy's beating heart.

Nearly a decade ago, in a year characterized by rising authoritarianism in the world, the Oxford Dictionaries misbranded "youthquake" the word of the year. Perhaps 2011 with the Arab Spring would have been a more appropriate year for that? However, after so much recent nineties nostalgia in culture and fashion, the worst of that decade – the rise of violent extremism from ethno-nationalist and far-right to jihadist terror – has been glossed over. Instead of a nineties redux, we are witnessing the rise of a new generation which thinks differently, sees the world distinctly and has experienced failures in global public health and governance far earlier than previous living generations in the West.

The problem with each successive generation, though, is that as one generation passes and another comes into being, the memory of why and how things went wrong is replaced only with the memory of what did go wrong. Rebellion is an instrument of youth and the defiant; constructive institutional evolution is a battle against inertia. Similarly, technology has surpassed existing legal governance. The old ways are no longer working.

It is over 30 years since Robert D. Kaplan published his essay, "The Coming Anarchy" which later became a book of the same title. Wedged between the time after the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing in 1995, the essay rejected the prevailing idealistic sentiments of the era and drew from Kaplan's West African experience to depict a world of imperceptible frontlines and scare resource-driven conflict. Sound familiar?

While anarchy, like direct confrontation with Russia or China, is not inevitable, the current prevailing anti-incumbent trends coupled with para-politics turn to the streets and a rising Gen Z as Boomers fade into memory all suggest we might find ourselves at that precise moment in time of an actual Zeitenwende or turning point. Where we go from here depends as much on the guard rails as the guardians who seek to steer the new frontiers.

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PERRY, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES – Audi CEO criticized for appearing at Trump rally

The Guardian reports Monday that Gernot Döllner, the CEO of German luxury carmaker Audi, shared the stage with Donald Trump at a campaign rally in the election battleground state of Georgia just days before the US midterms, drawing recriminations on this side of the Atlantic.
Döllner appeared on stage after Trump finished his stump speech at the rally in Perry, Georgia. Döllner and Trump announced "Audi would spend $4bn to build its first factory in the US and create 4,500 jobs".
Daniela Cavallo, the head of the workers' union at Audi’s parent company Volkswagen, noted Trump's speech was full of "racism, sexism, transphobia" and "contempt for democracy" and added Döllner and Volkswagen management "allowed itself to be 'turned into a puppet'" in Trump's campaign show. Audi was exceptionally vulnerable to Trump's 15% import tariffs. Last year, the tariffs cost Audi roughly €1.2 billion.

WASHINGTON, DC – Former Miss Switzerland accuses Trump of rape

People reports Monday that Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee examining Trump's alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation released a new report detailing former Miss Switzerland Beatrice Keul's allegation that Trump raped her in 1993.
In the report, Keul alleges that Trump violently raped her in a suite of the then Trump-owned Plaza Hotel in 1993. Afterwards, Trump allegedly "made her promise to remain silent". Furthermore, Keul described how Trump and Epstein used Trump's beauty pageant as a "'hunting ground' to prey on vulnerable young women and girls."
The White House denies the allegations.

ABUJA, NIGERIA – First Ebola case in the country is wife of Swiss diplomat

The BBC reports last Friday that a woman who tested positive for Ebola in Nigeria "is the wife of a Swiss diplomat".
The 42-year-old woman is a Ugandan-born national living in the Nigerian capital Abuja. She is Nigeria's first confirmed Ebola case in over 10 years. Swissinfo reported Monday that the woman's condition had improved and she was flown back to Switzerland for treatment.
In a statement, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said it believes the woman was infected while traveling in Uganda which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo, where approximately 4,600 people have died during the most recent outbreak of Ebola. Uganda reported two deaths due to Ebola, but was declared "free of Ebola" in August.

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA – Cassis visits North Korea for reopening of Swiss mission

Swissinfo reports Wednesday that Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis was due to visit North Korea to attend the reopening of the Swiss diplomatic office in the country's capital Pyongyang.
After it was shut in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the diplomatic office is reopening with the aim "to strengthen direct contacts and promote political dialogue". The diplomatic mission in Pyongyang reports to the Swiss embassy in Beijing.
During his visit, Cassis is scheduled "to hold political talks". It is, however, unclear whether he will meet with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.

TRAPPES, FRANCE – Shooting kills one, leave four injured; terrorism probed

Deutsche Welle reports Friday that one person was killed and four people were injured in a drive-by shooting in Trappes and La Verrière, some 20 km (12.4 miles) west of Paris.
French Interior Minister Lauent Nuñez called the shooting "clearly a terrorist crime". According to Nuñez, the attacker fired a "military-grade weapon, or at least an automatic weapon" from three different locations. President Emmanuel Macron said the incident "marks a turning point" for the country.
Shortly after the attack, police detained a suspect in the nearby town of Coignières. According to the authorities, the man "already had a criminal record". The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's office opened an investigation. Of the four wounded victims, three remain in critical condition.

PARIS, FRANCE – Over 1,300 arrested as clashes and mass protests continue

The BBC reports Monday that over 1,300 people were detained during another weekend of mass protests across France, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets and hundreds detained during clashes following largely peaceful demonstrations.
While protesters set barricades on fire in Marseille and police used tear gas in Paris, authorities "managed to avoid rioting and looting on the scale seen" over the weekend prior which drew international headlines and recriminations by the authorities. An additional 70,000 police were on duty across France last weekend and several cities imposed restrictions to prevent a recurrence of chaos.
The interior ministry said 410,000 people demonstrated nationwide on Saturday while left-leaning unions placed the number closer to 800,000. According to the interior ministry, 53 police officers were injured during the clashes.

PARIS, FRANCE – Far-right Austrian nationalist barred from entering France

Le Monde reports Thursday that far-right Austrian nationalist Martin Sellner said he was denied entry to France.
Sellner said he was stopped at the airport and would be deported the next day.
He was due to present his book, Remigration, about the forced repatriation of immigrants to their country of origin.

MILAN, ITALY – Street protests continue amid heavy security presence

Reuters reports Saturday that a week after unrest broke out across several cities, protests took place again across the country, with few instances of rioting.
Compared to the weekend before, last weekend's protests were largely peaceful in Milan, whereas some clashes occurred between protesters and police in Turin, Rome and Bologna.
Authorities, anxious to prevent violent protests, deployed 500 soldiers in Milan and a heavy police presence in several larger cities.

ROME, ITALY – Prime Minister Meloni's email account targeted in cyberattack

Reuters reports Tuesday that hackers attacked the IT systems of Italy's lower house of parliament with the email account of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni being one of the targets.
It is unclear whether the attackers succeeded in accessing Meloni's parliamentary email account.
According to Meloni's office she does not use her parliamentary account for "government communications".

ROME, ITALY – Italy and Spain end reciprocal border checks after Ceuta migrant surge

Reuters reports last Thursday that Italy and Spain agreed to stop border controls of each other's nationals.
The agreement between the two governments ends a three month-long quarrel triggered by a mass influx of migrants into the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Italy's government initiated border controls on July 31, saying "it wanted to make sure no migrants entering Ceuta could travel on to its territory." Spain, in turn, also introduced similar actions against Italy.
The two interior ministers reached the decision to end the dispute while speaking over the phone.

HAMBURG, GERMANY – German man arrested for driving an American girl to suicide

CBS News reports Saturday that German police arrested a German national for allegedly "driving a 14-year-old US girl to hang herself".
The suspect, an 18 year old German man, was arrested in Hamburg. Prosecutors accuse him of "being the indirect perpetrator of murder and grievous bodily harm". The FBI and US authorities assisted the German authorities.
Prosecutors linked the man to an online group called "Nefarious Maniac Kult", which is part of an international network known by the label "764". According to the FBI, members of the 764 group "openly encourage self-harm and violence", and they "encourage victims to produce videos documenting acts of self-harm or child sexual abuse material".

BERLIN, GERMANY – Berlin mayoral candidate reveals fear of terrorist sympathizer

Deutsche Welle reports Thursday that Elif Eralp, leader of the Berlin chapter of the Left Party (Die Linke) and the likely candidate to become the city's next mayor, "unintentionally aired personal security fears" apparently linked to a pro-Palestinian activist.
During the authorization process for an interview Eralp gave Der Spiegel, she made written comments that were inadvertantly shared with the news weekly that suggested she could not name a certain pro-Palestinian activist due to security concerns, writing, "I can't put myself and my family in danger for Der Spiegel." Another of Eralp's remarks stated that law enforcement had previously advised her against commenting "on specific individuals". Reportedly, the individual in question is Ibrahim Ibrahim, who called the Hamas mastermind behind the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel a "martyr" and a "hero".
After Die Linke came out on top in local elections in Berlin last month, Eralp is on track to become the city's next mayor. Der Spiegel spun her draft comments into a question of whether "a woman who is too scared to name a terrorist sympathizer" can "be responsible for the security of all Berliners?" On Instagram, Eralp said she had received more threats since the election.

BERLIN, GERMANY – German national facing trial for attempting to join IS

Deutsche Welle reports Saturday that a 21 year old German national was placed "in pre-trial detention for allegedly attempting" to join the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).
Prosecutors accuse the suspect of having traveled from Berlin to Ethiopia in January of last year to join the terror group in Somalia. Apparently, the German national never reached Somalia but traveled to Pakistan instead. There, he was arrested by the Pakistani authorities in February 2025 and has now been extradited to Germany.
The man will be put on trial for attempting to join a terrorist group abroad and for "preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state."

BERCHTESGADEN, GERMANY – Former Nazi guest house 'Eagle's Nest' burned down

Reuters reports Saturday that a fire devastated the "Eagle's Nest," a former Nazi guest house in southern Germany.
Police are investigating the cause of the fire and have already detained a suspect near the scene.
The guest house was built in 1938 and occasionally used by Adolf Hitler.

NEUSTADT AM RÜBENBERGE, GERMANY – Car rams group of people, injuring several

Deutsche Welle reports Tuesday that a car intentionally rammed a group of people, leading "four or five" of them to sustain "serious but not life-threatening injuries" in Neustadt am Rübenberge near Hanover.
Police forces that were patrolling in the area witnessed the incident and intervened by shooting at the car "to stop it".
Police later detained three people at the car owner's address. According to a police spokesperson, "initial findings indicated the ramming was an act of gang violence between organized crime families".

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Foreign ministry expels four Russian diplomats for spying

Reuters reports last Friday that the Austrian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of four Russian diplomats.
The foreign ministry said the diplomats were being expelled over "activities incompatible with their diplomatic status," a euphemism generally deployed to describe espionage. Three of the diplomats had worked at the Russian embassy in Vienna and one was part of the Russian delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on "military security and arms control".
Since 2020, Austria has expelled a total of 18 Russian diplomats for allegedly spying. Vienna has long been viewed as a hotspot for international espionage.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Acquittal of alleged neo-Nazi sparks criticism

The Times of Israel reports Wednesday that an Austrian court's decision to acquit an alleged neo-Nazi on charges of "repeatedly wearing clothing bearing illegal Nazi symbols" and "possessing Nazi propaganda material" outraged a Holocaust remembrance organization.
In the same trial the 42-year-old man, "an alleged member of the far-right Unsterblich (Immortal) group", was convicted of "carrying a knife and handed him a three-month suspended sentence". The Mauthausen Committee of Austria, a Holocaust remembrance organization, voiced sharp criticism regarding the proceedings and the acquittal, calling it "a scandal of the highest order". Reportedly, the man was convicted of banned Nazi symbols in 2022.
Prosecutors have appealed the acquittal.

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – Ruling coalition rushes media overhaul

Reuters reports Saturday that the Czech ruling coalition, in a rare overnight vote, advanced plans to change public media funding.
The vote in question was held "outside the planned order of proceedings," at 4:36am local time on Saturday. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside parliament around the time of the vote, and on Sunday, The Associated Press reports thousands took to the streets in Prague.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš' government frequently criticizes media coverage of its policies and claims several private media companies were biased. The opposition compared the proposed changes to reforms enacted in Viktor Orbán's Hungary. Former Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán massively expanded pro-government media at the expense of independent voices.

ST. GALLEN, SWITZERLAND – Belarusian man found guilty of 'enforced disappearance'

Swissinfo reports Monday that a Belarusian national was sentenced to a "24-month suspended prison term for enforced disappearance" by the Cantonal Court of St. Gallen.
The court's verdict overturned the decision of the lower court, which had acquitted the man in one case. The Cantonal Court based its ruling on the man's role in "the enforced disappearance of three people" in Belarus, which he had described during the preliminary investigation "in a credible and detailed manner".
The decision can be appealed by the defendant.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Files show negotiations between Switzerland and the Taliban

Swissinfo reports Saturday that during the summer of 2025, after a visit by a Taliban delegation, Swiss authorities deported three men to Afghanistan.
The report refers to an investigation undertaken by the research collective calling itself WAV based on files "obtained under transparency laws". Documents purport to show how Swiss officials wanted the Taliban to identify "13 Afghan nationals convicted of crimes in Switzerland," whom Switzerland wanted to deport. The documents further reveal that Swiss authorities shared the personal information of these individuals with the Taliban. For asylum law experts, this constitutes "a scandal that could put the deportees' safety at risk".
According to the files, eight of the 13 people in question were identified by the Taliban as Afghans and three of them were subsequently deported. The Swiss State Secretariat for Migration stated that "the lawfulness of their removal" was verified by a court.

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss freeze Doctors Without Borders funding over sex abuse

The Jerusalem Post reports Wednesday that "Switzerland's Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has suspended funding of CHF 1.25 million ($1.52 million)" or €1.36 million," to Doctors Without Borders after "reports that the humanitarian NGO failed to adequately inform Swiss authorities of the scale of the reports of sexual misconduct by staff in Chad."
In November 2024, "The SDC first learned of potential sexual misconduct by MSF in Chad" but "the matter only entered the public eye after the Associated Press published an MSF internal investigation in June 2026." The internal report revealed "a pattern of abuse and sexual exploitation by some local and foreign staff working in Chad along the Sudanese border". In some cases, "underage girls" were targeted "trading food or jobs for sex with refugees." In one camp, a curfew was imposed "on girls to keep them away from aid workers, not armed groups." In total, Doctors Without Borders found "59 allegations of abuse and said 18 staff members were dismissed and barred from future employment."
The amount of the funding cut is 20% of this year's allocation to the charity.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – UN-backed investigation accuses Israel of 'extermination'

Swissinfo reports Monday that an inquiry mandated by the UN accused Israel of committing "extermination, torture and persecution" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which authored the report on the West Bank, came to the conclusion last year that "Israel was committing 'genocide' in Gaza". With regard to the West Bank, the inquiry states that Israel has "committed crimes against humanity", including "extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence". In September, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk accused the Israeli government of "forcibly displacing" over 33,000 Palestinians "from three camps in the West Bank" early last year, which if true, could constitute "a crime against humanity and ethnic cleansing".
Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva reacted to the report's findings by stating it was an "attempt to destroy the Jewish state".

MONACO – Man charged in death of Prince Albert of Monaco's second cousin

People reports Wednesday that a man was charged with "involuntary manslaughter and failure to assist a person in danger" in connection with the death of Antoine de Massy, the second cousin of Prince Albert of Monaco.
De Massy was found dead in a park in Monaco on Sunday after the 29 year old allegedly fell. It is unclear "what alleged action, or inaction" the charged man is accused of having taken "in relation to Massy's death".
De Massy and Prince Albert shared the same great-grandparents.

And finally…

MADRID, SPAIN – French football star apologizes for 'dictator' comment about Mao

Politico reports Tuesday that French football star Kylian Mbappé apologized for a video in which he supposedly mocked Mao Zedong.
In the original video that went viral on X, an interviewer asked the Real Madrid striker which of the memes featuring himself he finds the funniest. He replied it was the one where his face was photoshopped onto that of "some guy — I think he's a Chinese dictator." The backlash followed immediately. Two Chinese firms, a beverage-maker and a dairy company, announced the cancellation of their partnerships with Mbappé.
Shortly thereafter, Mbappé apologized saying, "my comment was ill-judged", and that he had "deep respect for the Chinese people and their history". Mbappé's employer Real Madrid also apologized for the incident.

Stay safe and never apologize for the truth!

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